Thu, Dec 05, 2002 page8

• Editorial: Saying no to the status quo

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  The latest opinion poll by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission shows more people are heading toward supporting independence.

  According to the opinion poll, there are more people who support independence (32.3 percent) than those who support unification (21.8 percent) or the status quo (19.7 percent).

  Never before have so many people supported independence. Moreover, its percentage of support has grown from the 29.6 percent in the commission's survey in 2000, while the percentages of support for status quo and unification have declined -- from 21.5 percent and 26.6 percent, respectively.

  It must be pointed out that the percentage of supporters for unification has undergone a significant decline -- more than 5 percent -- since 2000. This figure cannot be brushed aside, since it has exceeded the usual 3 percent margin of error. The question then becomes what is prompting this gradual shift.

  One reason may be that, while Taiwan's democracy may be suffering from some troubling growing pains over the past years, democracy is nevertheless becoming increasingly indispensable to the people -- now that they have come to know the feeling of being one's own master.

  It is becoming more and more unthinkable for them that, until democratization, they lived a life in which they remained silent under one-party autocracy, despite the fact that the nation had a robust economy at the time. For all the apparent opportunities to strike rich in the lucrative Chinese market these days, it is even more unimaginable that they would have to return to that kind of life under Chinese rule in the event of unification.

  A no less important reason for this shift is perhaps China's high-handed tactics in dealing with Taiwan over the years. On Tuesday, China's ambassador to the US, Yang Jiechi (楊潔箎), shamelessly claimed that Chinese missile deployment targeting Taiwan is an issue of "national security" that deserves US understanding and support.

  What kind of national security concern can Taiwan possibly pose to China when Taipei is "allowed" only to purchase defensive arms and when it has its hands full trying to stay alive under Chinese threats?

  Yang was quoted as saying "It is [Taiwan's] actions that are actually causing instability."

  On Nov. 26, an official from China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhou Mingwei (周明偉), had the audacity to say "logically speaking we can teach them [the Taiwanese] a lesson, but we haven't done so."

  These are just two examples of the kind of abusive and demeaning language from China that people in Taiwan must put up with on a regular basis. How can they not feel resentful?

  Also playing a role is perhaps the unprecedented friendliness of the US government toward Taiwan and international condemnation against Chinese missile threats.

  Finally, perhaps more people are finally realizing that reality is closing in on them, and that it is simply naive to think that the status quo can be maintained indefinitely.

  With China growing stronger everyday in terms of economic, military and political prowesses, today's status quo is already different from that of a few years ago. Under the circumstances, people must take a stance over the question of independence versus unification.

  If the people are indeed opting for independence over unification, can the world and China respect the people's right to self-determination?
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